Duets Three
by Ivy Kendall
Summary: A series of conversations after the cameras stopped rolling. Revisiting the third season during the hiatus.
1. Flynn and Provenza (Zoo Story)

"Flynn... Flynn..." Provenza said quietly, waving his hand at Andy to join him. Andy looked up in confusion and shrugged. What he was doing could wait a few minutes, so he put the papers down and walked over to Provenza.

"Yeah?"

"Come with me..."

Together they walked into the conference room and Provenza closed the door.

"What's up?" Flynn asked the other man.

Provenza took a deep breath, then ran his fingers through his hair. "We've got a... damn..." he shook his head, then met Flynn's eyes. "Look... Rusty came to me earlier today. His mother is in jail."

"Good. Drugs?"

"Huh... if only it was that easy. No, shoplifting. She told Rusty it was vitamins and some energy bars, nothing special. The line she gave him is she forgot and walked out of the store to see a friend."

"I take it she was a little light on details."

"Light... you can say that again."

"What's the real deal?"

"Two dresses, shoes, and a packet of meth."

"Ah jeez..." Flynn rolled his eyes.

"Yeah... well, Rusty asked me to look into it, so I did. The kid knew she was lying but he didn't know how bad."

"Poor guy."

"It gets worse."

'How much worse?"

Provenza sighed heavily. "I told the kid I would look into it, and I did. I showed him the police report where she had stollen more than she admitted. He knew, of course, but seeing the file was still hard."

"Yeah, I bet."

"But that's not all. I, ah..." Provenza cleared his throat. "I asked him when he saw his mother, then got Buzz to get the recording so I could see what was really said. She tried to get him to make bail."

"Bail? How the hell does she think she's getting bail? And from the kid? He doesn't have any money."

"Yeah... thinking of him wasn't exactly a top priority for her."

"She didn't tell him to hit up Sharon, did she? Police can't give anyone bail."

"Well, that was her second option. Number three was getting the Captain to make a deal."

"Number two and three? What was number one?"

Provenza lowered his eyes and shook his head. "I don't even want to say it, it's so damn disturbing."

Flynn was confused. "What? What could be so bad? What could she want him to do to get the money and..." his voice trailed off as clarity dawned. "No..."

"Yes..."

"She didn't..."

"Without even blinking..."

"Son of a bitch!" Andy cursed, physically reeling from the revulsion he felt. "Beck wanted her own son to go back on the street and make money for her?"

"She's not the first parent to try that."

"Oh my god... does Sharon know?"

Provenza shook his head. "No, that's why I came to you first. I know we have to tell her but we've got to do it gently."

"There's no 'gently' with this. Damn..." Flynn swore again, rubbing his eyes. "This is going to kill her. What's your plan?"

"Plan? I don't have a plan. You're the plan. You tell me. You know her better than anyone. How do you think we should tell the Captain?"

Flynn looked at Provenza for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Look... we need to keep this just between us."

"Us and Buzz."

"Well yeah, just the three of us... for now. Let's finish this case. Beck isn't going anywhere, right? She's in County?"

"Yeah, and I've got some people watching her. She's still using."

"Of course she is. She probably never stopped. Okay... when this case wraps, we tell Sharon then. She will want to see it with her own eyes."

"You're going to be in there with me, right?"

"You kidding? I'm not leaving her alone with this. Okay, we keep this to ourselves until Officer Sherman is found, then we show her the recording. Sharon's been bending over backwards not to interfere with Rusty's relationship with his Mom. She needs to see with her own eyes how bad it can get. She's been too nice about this, and I know it's killing her just thinking about what Beck might do. With proof, I think we're gonna see Sharon step in. Man... that poor kid."

"I guess... I guess I'll do the dirty work," Provenza sighed.

"Hey, we're not doing the dirty work. Beck did that. We're just trying to stop it from getting worse. We'll let Sharon call the shots and let her know we have her back. There's nothing else we can do."


	2. Jack and Rusty (Jane Doe 38)

"You're a bright kid. Let's talk about it. We've a lot to catch up on," Jack had his arm around Rusty's shoulders, as they walked towards the elevator. "So, how've you really been, son? Glad the trial is over, I bet."

Rusty felt himself relaxing as they moved towards the elevators. Whatever was between Sharon and Jack was none of his business, and Jack had always treated him well.

"Yeah... I never want to do that again."

Jack chuckled. "No, I can imagine. I don't know all the details, and I'm not asking, but you know you can always talk to me, right? Sharon's great and all, but I've been in a lot more court rooms. I know what that can be like."

Smiling, Rusty nodded. "I don't know how you do it. The police always lie and lawyers are always controlling people lives," he shook his head, "I don't think I could ever do a job like that."

Jack threw back his head and laughed. "That's what I like about you, Rusty, you don't beat around the bush. You just say things the way they are. I have a really good feeling about you. I think you'll make a great intern."

The elevator opened and they entered, both silent as they watched the numbers decrease to the main floor. Once outside the station, Jack pointed his finger down the street. "It's not far. I'm surprised you haven't come to see me. You should let me teach you a few more tricks about poker."

"Oh no... last time you did that, you totally scammed me with those glasses," Rusty smiled up at him. "I'm not taking another chance."

"Smart lad."

They passed a number of lights down the street, then into one of the older buildings on a shorter block. Jack waved at a receptionist and she buzzed him in. "These older buildings," he leaned over to Rusty. "The owner is too cheap to get a card system up and running."

Rusty nodded his understanding, but said nothing. Jack lead him towards the elevators and they waited for the rattling box to make it's way to their floor.

"Don't worry," Jack sensed his hesitation, "this thing is serviced regularly. It's got it's own personality, I'll admit, but any building that's stood around as long as this one has, witnessing all the changes in the city, has earned it's right to be a little cranky."

"I guess..."

The elevator stopped three floors up, and Rusty was very happy to exit. Jack pointed again, and they walked past a bank of name plates. "Mine will be up there at some point," Jack assured him. "But you see, when you practice in different states and different firms like I have, it takes awhile to move up the ranks."

"Makes sense."

"Okay, lad, here's my office. Not as nice as Sharon's, I'll admit, but it does what I need it to do."

Rusty looked around. Everything looked old. The books, the carpet, the furniture, and Jack. He looked like he'd aged ten years, not just one since the last time Rusty laid eyes on him.

"So," Jack clapped his hands together and gestured toward the two seats in front of his desk. "Take a seat, and let's get started. First off, when do you graduate?"

"Uh... in a month. Well, three and a half weeks, actually." Rusty smiled at the idea. Free from school sounded good to him.

"Great, great... and ah, what's your GPA?"

"3.7, but that could change. I haven't finished all my assignments yet."

"That's... that's... You should be really proud of yourself, son. That is an amazing mark."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised, actually. With all the problems I had, and the trial, I didn't think I'd even pass."

"I knew you would. I told you you were a smart fellow. I knew that the minute I met you. And I know Sharon. She's really proud of you. I know she made you work for every one of those marks, and it paid off. And here, just graduating high school, and you could be working for one of the oldest law firms in the city."

Rusty looked around. Old is right. "What would I be doing?"

"Good question. A very good question. You know how to cut to the heart of things. Well, interns are the go-fers in a law firm. If I need a document delivered, or a book found, or something brought to the courthouse... that sort of thing."

"Like get you lunch or pick up coffee?"

"Only if you're doing that for yourself, son. And intern helps with the stuff I do, he isn't my personal assistant. I'll get my own lunch."

"Okay... that doesn't sound too bad."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. So of course, you know how to do research, and with marks like that it shows."

Rusty couldn't help the smile bubble up.

"And you know your way around a computer system, I assume."

"Yes sir."

"Good... good... and I'm sure Sharon will be okay with all of this."

"I have to talk to her, but I'm sure it will be alright. I just have to finish high school first."

"Of course. Sharon does things in a particular way, as she's always reminded me. One foot in front of another. Steady as she goes. No stepping out of line and taking on more than you can chew."

Rusty nodded, "That sounds about right."

"She only wants the best for you, son."

"I know that."

"So... Sharon doesn't tell me much... how are things at home?"

"Fine," Rusty shrugged.

"She looked a little tired, I thought. Not her usual self. Is she doing okay?"

"Yeah..." Rusty looked off to the side to collect his thoughts. "I mean, she's busy, and there was a case not too long ago where two little kids were killed and stuffed in suitcases. That kind of thing is always hard on her. It's hard on everyone."

"Two kids..." Jack shook his head and covered his mouth slightly, looking pensive. "I sure don't know how she does it. I mean, I know what you think about lawyers, Rusty, and you aren't far off a lot of the time. But seeing some of the things they see over there... I'm just glad Sharon has all those people in her life."

Rusty shrugged and nodded. He was happy the team had each other too.

"But she's doing alright, right? I mean, that guy she's seeing... he's good to her, isn't he?"

"What guy?"

"You'd know better than I would," Jack chuckled. "Who ever it is she's dating. I just want to make sure he treats her better than I did."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Don't you? Huh..." he looked thoughtfully, "I was sure she would have told you. I mean, all those dinners and evenings out. She only wants you to think she's working late? That's strange. But I guess she still likes to keep secrets. She still looks at you and sees a boy, not the man you're becoming. I guess that's why she wants to make things more permanent, legal, you know. She wants to make sure you know you're her son in every way."

"What are you talking about, Jack? What guy? Legal what ways?"

Jack stood up and smiled his usual smile. "No, no I said too much. Look, when Sharon's ready to tell you, she'll tell you herself. It's not my place. You just take care of her, okay? She spends so much time taking care of everyone else in her life, she hardly thinks of herself. I should know. I've been married to her for a very long time."

Rusty stumbled to his feet. "Sharon doesn't keep secrets from me, she tells me when she's ready... always."

Jack smiled again, this time with a note of pity. "I'm sure she does, son. I'm sure she does."

He felt unsettled as Jack walked him to the door.

"Well son, I wish you the best with the rest of your year. You make an excellent candidate for intern, so after you graduate next month, we'll talk again. How about that?"

"Uh... yeah, sure. Sounds good."

Jack patted him on the back and Rusty left, wondering what had just happened and needing to think over a few things before talking to Sharon.


	3. Sanchez and Tao (Flight Risk)

"Julio, I'm with you," Tao said, moving towards the passenger side of Sanchez' vehicle.

Momentarily surprised, Julio turned and walked to his car. "I thought you were riding with the Lieutenant."

"He's staying with Buzz. He said for us to go to the morgue with the bodies. I don't know what we'll find out this early, but I think he's trying to give us all a little time to process."

Julio snorted, "Process..." He didn't say more, he merely got in the car and pulled away from the scene. An ambulance was already taking the suitcases from the site.

They watched from the idling car, until the ambulance passed them. No sires were needed, just a slow, careful drive downtown. Both men wished they had been able to give the children the dignity of removing them from the suitcases, but Dr. Morales had to make sure the bodies were in solid condition before they could be removed, and the underpass didn't give them the needed setting. It wasn't worth setting up a tent over the suitcases for the ten minutes it would take to lie the children out flat. So inside the suitcases they remained. Another grisly sight for their coroner.

They drove along in silence for awhile, both lost in their own thoughts.

"If Flynn or Sykes was in the car with me, they'd be grilling me right now," Julio broke the quiet.

"I imagine the Captain would as well," Tao replied, never taking his eyes off of the ambulance ahead of them.

"Nah... she'd just turn and stare at me, waiting for me to crack."

"Well, don't think I'm going to do that. Talk or don't talk, it's all the same to me."

"You've got your own load, Sir."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Everyone else stood back. You were the one to open the cases."

"True. However you were the first to see the monitor and it stopped you dead in your tracks."

"I didn't want to believe it."

"I didn't either. The belt is in my pocket, by the way."

"Belt?"

"The one you were carrying. I didn't want to contaminate the crime scene or the cases. You can have it back."

"The belt belongs with the rest of the robe." Sanchez's face didn't change in his expression, but it was easy to detect the anger lying just underneath. "What was the other body like, the boy's body? Was he in his robe too?"

"No," Tao sighed, "he was dressed for day camp. I guess Ellie, being younger, needed some help."

"I found her glasses. She probably needed help getting dressed. The belt was all she managed to take off."

"Julio, you can't get too attached, you know that."

Grunting, but still not turning from his focus on the road ahead of him, Julio responded. "I'm not attached, Sir. Some things just shouldn't happen. That little girl should have been at camp yesterday. She shouldn't have blood all over her bedroom wall. Her house shouldn't be a crime scene. She shouldn't be folded up into a suitcase and dumped on the side of the road. None of yesterday should have happened."

"We can't change it."

"I know that, Sir. But we can find the bastard who did this to her and her brother. Why them? What good does it do to kill two innocent, little kids? She couldn't even see properly. Whatever happened in her bedroom, she didn't see it. She could have been left alone."

"She was still a witness... assuming she was alive the longest. There was a lot of blood in that room."

"How bad was it?"

"You were there," Tao said in surprise.

"No, Sir, I meant the bodies, how bad?"

"You were standing over me, Julio. You saw for yourself."

"To be honest, Sir, all I saw was the polka dot robe and her curled up body. I don't remember bruises or blood."

"There wasn't any. Dr. Morales will have to say officially, but however those children died, it wasn't from blunt trauma. No cuts or blood."

"Poison?"

"Maybe."

"She looked like she was sleeping."

"They both did."

"Thanks for clearing that up, Sir," Sanchez responded after another period of silence. "I though my mind was playing tricks on me and I didn't see things properly."

"If you'd stayed, you'd be a better witness."

"I couldn't stay."

Tao only nodded. He hadn't wanted to stay either, which is probably why Provenza ordered him to open the second case, and for Buzz to film everything. None of them wanted to see what was inside. Two dead children. It was the hardest part of the job.


	4. Raydor and Flynn (Frozen Assets)

"You sure you want to do this?" Andy asked, as he adjusted the chains around Sharon's neck, carefully concealing the microphone.

"Why not? I haven't had a chance to do this in years, and I don't think that this Mr. Kleiner is a threat."

"He killed Brewster. That makes him dangerous enough in my books."

"Andy, I'll be fine," she smiled up at him. "Besides, he poisoned her. He didn't use a weapon, and that is still just our suspicion. We have no evidence to conclusively prove anything. We need to set him up. He's met you and the Lieutenant. Amy, Julio and Mike could never pass for family members, and Buzz has to monitor the cameras. That leaves me." She gave him a half grin again, "Besides, it's fun to do something besides paperwork."

Snorting, he shook his head, "Fun... setting up a killer."

"Yes, and I have you and the others in the den down the hall, Julio and Amy outside, and I do know how to take care of myself."

"Just make sure you don't need to."

Sharon rolled her eyes and turned away from him, to allow him access to her back. He needed to make sure the receiver and power source were securely attached. After a few moments, she heard him huff, and turned back to see his problem.

"This won't stick," he shook his head. "The silk... I need so much tape I'm going to ruin it."

"What do you mean?"

"Silk is the worst for these things, that's why we clip things to our ties, we don't tape them. Cotton is good. Wool is okay. Linen is great. But the silk in your blouse and liner in the jacket... I should have thought of that before you picked this up from SIS. I'm sorry," he sighed.

"Oh... well, the jacket? It's wool. The skirt?"

"You risk having it seen."

"Andy, we don't have time for me to change. Everything is set up. Dick Tracy is on his way to get Mr. Kleiner. We only have one shot at this. We'll just... I'll pay for the suit so the department can replace it."

Looking at the items in his hand and then up to her stricken face, he shrugged. "Okay... there's only one other way this goes. Just raise your blouse."

"What?"

"Your blouse. Lift it in the back. It'll be uncomfortable as hell, but I can tape it to your back."

"And it will stay?" she questioned him, already pulling the red blouse from her skirt.

Andy shrugged, "Like I said, it's going to be uncomfortable. These things have to be about ten inches apart, and since I can't do one on your shoulder now, I gotta put on your stomach and the other on your back. Just..." he blew out a breath, "just hold your shirt up and breathe normal."

Sharon did as commanded. The devices where colder then she thought they would be, even having been in Andy's hand.

"This is gonna hurt coming off," he said softly, trying to touch her as little as possible while ensuring there was enough tape to keep everything in place.

Hitching the shirt up further, she exposed the bottom of her rib cage. She tried to look ahead so she could keep her body straight and think of anything but his gentle fingers tickling her sides. "The camera isn't on yet, is it?"

"Buzz will remove this part if it is."

"Good," she sighed nervously. "It's just a big bandaid, right?"

"Yeah, right... Okay, done. Tuck in and get ready." Andy gave Sharon a once over. "Itchy?"

"No, but it tugs at my skin. You were right, this is uncomfortable."

"Just be careful how you move. You need to be natural. He got away with everything this long because he's smart, remember that."

Sharon smiled, "You sound like you're my commanding officer."

"Hey, when it comes to field work, I got years more practice then you. Do what I tell you and it'll be fine."

"Yes Sir," she winked.

Andy rolled his eyes. "You got the phone close enough?"

"I hear people."

"I'm going. We've got eyes on you."

"Get!" she hissed.

Sharon watched Andy leave the back way, and made a quick survey of her surroundings to make sure none of the tools he had used were left behind. She tried not to move as much as possible so the tape wouldn't pull. Just as the sounds got louder, she picked up one of the less gaudy decorations from the credenza.

Andy watched from the other room. A little bantering with Provenza never hurt, but he wanted to make sure he didn't miss his cue. She was doing great, but it was time to reel Kleiner in. Dialing the number to the burner phone they purchased for her, he waited.

"Yes?" she said, picking it up on the second ring.

"How you doing?"

"Well I'm not sure I'm going to be listing the house after all."

"Good... remember you have to tell him the police are on the way."

"Oh... could you come by after five?"

"Now sell it... you're doing great."

"Oh, well... if you really feel that you must... erm... yes..." she shook her head slightly, giving the impression of being flustered.

Andy grinned a little as he watched. She was doing exactly what she needed to do, and not letting on to Kleiner for one minute that he was being had. She was better than they had feared. FID was obviously the wrong department. SIS seemed more her speed.

She delivered the final points and got out of the room as quickly as she could, much to his relief. Her part was over. He could concentrate on the dirtbag now.


End file.
